Errors of Alcoholics Anonymous -- "Taking One's Inventory"

In the "How it Works" section of Alcoholics Anonymous, recent converts to the program are instructed to engage in a "fearless moral inventory", going every wrong thought, word, and deed which they have committed in the past.

Saddleback Church Pastor Rick Warren's "Celebrate Recovery" program champions this "necessary" step for believers to overcome their "hurts, habits, and hang-ups." To justify this approach, Warren's program references a verse from Jesus' Sermon on the Mount:

 "Therefore if thou bring thy gift to the altar, and there rememberest that thy brother hath ought against thee;

 "Leave there thy gift before the altar, and go thy way; first be reconciled to thy brother, and then come and offer thy gift. "(Matthew 5: 23-24)

Jesus gave His sermon while still under the Old Covenant (Galatians 4: 4). Jesus restored the law to its divine and unmanageable height (Matthew 5: 20) because the religious leaders watered down the law (Mark 4: 6-7).

 On the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus brought the law back to its original intent: to hold man accountable for his inward state, and to bring him to the end of himself (Romans 3: 19). God is after more than behavior modification – He wants to transform us from dead in our trespasses to alive in Christ (Ephesians 2: 1-6)If a man was angry with another without a cause, he was guilty of murder. If a man looked on a woman to lust after her, he committed adultery. (Matthew 5: 22-32)

 Now we can understand Matthew 5: 21–26 more specifically:

 "Therefore if thou bring thy gift to the altar, and there rememberest that thy brother hath ought against thee." (Matthew 5: 23)

 "Ought" renders the Greek word "τις, τι", an indefinite pronoun which means "any one, some one, a certain one or thing." So, if someone is angry with you because you did not say "Hello" to him in the morning or you did not join his book club or come to his son or daughter's recital, these perceived slights would count as "ought."

 Under law, one is expected to make an account for every wrongdoing, even the ones you are unaware of!

 The writer of Hebrews declares that an offerer at the altar cannot avoid remembering sins (Hebrews 10: 2)

 In effect, there is no end to the recriminating remembrance of wrongdoing.

 Moreover, the fact that an altar is mentioned already points out that Jesus is speaking about Old Covenant practices, none of which pertains to the New Covenant:

 "For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, saith the Lord; I will put my laws into their mind, and write them in their hearts: and I will be to them a God, and they shall be to me a people:

 "And they shall not teach every man his neighbour, and every man his brother, saying, Know the Lord: for all shall know me, from the least to the greatest.

 "For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their iniquities will I remember no more." (Hebrews 8: 10-12)

 Under the New Covenant, in which Christ Jesus has become the finally, fulfilling, and eternal sacrifice, there is no altar needed, and no further remembrance of sins! All of our sins are paid for, and God does not remember them.

Jesus told His listeners to do something impossible after leaving their gift at the altar:

"First be reconciled to thy brother, and then come and offer thy gift." (Matthew 5: 24)

 "Reconcile" renders the Greek word " διαλλάσσομαι, diallassómai" which means “change, exchange, as in ‘change enmity for friendship.’" Yet the prefix "diá," indicates "thoroughly," which intensifies the meaning to "complete change."

Paul uses the same term in his second Epistle to the Corinthians:

“To wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation." (2 Corinthians 5: 19)

Here, the word "reconcile" renders the Greek word "katallassó: to change, exchange, reconcile. καταλλάσσω goes further than διαλλάσσω, for where "δια" speaks of "thoroughly", "κατα" indicates a far greater reconciliation, one which is "down to an exact point".

 To summarize the context and intent of the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus was demanding a "thorough reconciliation"  from His hearers. If they wanted to justify themselves based on the Law, Ten Commandments and all, then they would have to leave their gifts, find every person they ever offended, whether they were aware of it or not, then be completely reconciled with each person. This demand can be summed up in two words: “Im possible”!

Through Jesus’ death on the Cross, every person can receive by grace through faith (Ephesians 2:4-8) a complete and permanent reconciliation with His Father and the world! We cannot take our inventory enough to make ourselves right with God, but because of what Jesus did at the Cross, we do not have to. The Twelve Steps are both too much and not enough. Jesus is enough.